Find peace, practice mindfulness

Try something for a second. Look at the photo. Hold your paper or your device. Take a breath that moves your belly button. Release it and enjoy that and only that, just for a moment.

You’re done.

This story could end here. If it were only that easy.

But, instead, as soon as you read “You’re done,” the rest of the day came crashing in: You couldn’t do it and got frustrated, you have a billion things to do, you hear voices, you have to make plans, to-do lists, note the time, tend the coffee maker. It might be a busy day. Easter requires much from many in the name of celebration: dinners, baskets, eggs, visits, services.

But if you’re still with me, perhaps you know there’s a lot of talk in our culture these days about a concept called “mindfulness.” No less than The New York Times, Time Magazine and Oprah have devoted barrels of ink and forests of trees to the value of appreciating the present moment.

Sounds easy. And it is, in some ways, exceedingly simple, to say nothing of inexpensive.

Yet entire publications, websites, books and classes are devoted to helping us practice the art of letting go — of our suffering, stress, negative emotions — to become more grateful, at peace, positive, content; we are to sit quietly, detach our emotions and watch, become more “mindful” of a moment: the taste of coffee, the feeling of the mug, the feel of the air, the sound of the birds, the chatter of others — all without judgment, because the world is what it is, and the sooner we accept ourselves in this moment, the sooner we can see its beauty.

Did you get all that? Or did it sound like mumbo jumbo?

How about this: “With technology there is so much we’re putting into our brains that our souls have not caught up,” said Jane Ellen Nickell, 58, chaplain at Allegheny College, which devoted the 2016-17 school year to the concept of mindfulness. “We crave time to let it sink in, to just take time.

“A lot of people are discovering that,” she said.

Allegheny invited speakers in, including a neurologist, artists, Buddhists, psychologists, musicians, Tibetan monks and poets, all of whom use or have seen the benefits of mindfulness in their work.

Elsewhere, professional therapists use mindfulness in their practices, schools are experimenting with using mindfulness with unruly children, artists are incorporating what they see when they are in a mindful state and corporations are teaching their employees mindful practices to reduce stress and improve well-being.

Scott Boyd, 46, a licensed professional counselor in Erie, uses mindfulness in his practice, The Counselors Inn.

“It means I’m centered on my client, not only on them, but what’s in them,” he said. “I’m looking to see what they are in the present, not their life before, but looking to become aware of their irrational thoughts and how it relates back to what they do.”

He said it’s not about labeling a disorder and applying a treatment or technique, but mindfully watching for the hiccups in their thought process — without judgment.

“It allows for me to help in a therapeutic way to bring them into congruence with themselves,” Boyd said.

“It requires empathy. Being able to put yourself in their situation in an unconditional, positive regard. It’s necessary to help someone grow and open up to becoming who they are.”

That “mindful watching,” he said, has grown out of Americans’ exposure to Asian beliefs and traditions and is being used in stress reduction for people with cancer, in pain control, even in military training.

“For me, quiet, contemplative prayer is part of my lectio (daily mindful) practice,” McCarthy said. “It’s a sitting prayer where we focus on a word, on a breath and that’s a very ancient Christian practice.

“Some people call it the prayer of quiet. We read, reflect, pray, respond and then be in stillness, be in quiet and then respond in action.

“That’s a classic Christian prayer.”

She said even after decades of such practice, it takes work.

“It involves calling your mind back continuously,” she said. “When I let myself get caught up in my to-do list and shoulds and projects I wish I had done, I spin out into that.”

She said you don’t have to have any religion to benefit from mindful practice.

“You can have very deep powerful mindful practice that doesn’t have a spiritual aspect,” she said. “Doesn’t have to be about a relationship with God. It’s listening with the heart to what really is.”

She agrees with Boyd that mindful practice breeds empathy for others.

“Beauty, pain, suffering, joy of another person,” she said. “I can be present to what’s happening with them in my own body and in my own heart.”

Leaving time for mindful moments can bring the meaning of the day into focus.

“Prayer or contemplative practices can open our hearts more deeply to the reality of the suffering, the hope, the joy, the love in the present moment,” McCarthy said.

Mindfulness, McCarthy said, is about seeing the beauty of what’s right in front of you.Mindful year

Sharon Wesoky, professor of political science and Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies, is one of the Allegheny faculty who led the college’s Year of Mindfulness. The 48-year-old hoped it would offer the students and faculty a chance to pause and focus, and that some might take that skill with them. “People want meaning,” she said. “They’re tired of distractions. They want to focus on the present, make better connections with people they love.

“Life is so fast-paced. Everything is changing really fast and we’re searching for ways to cope with that, and this is one of those tools.”

She’s been practicing mindfulness for several years, and still her mind sometimes wanders. But learning to gently return her focus to her breath and let go of negative thoughts has changed her life, and she wants to pass that on.

“I teach political science, and believe there is social relevance and economics to mindfulness,” Wesoky said, citing author E.F. Schumacher’s book “Small is Beautiful.” “There’s a disconnect between our economy and human needs and sustainable environment.

“Mindfulness helps us see what it means to be a person, our interdependence. I don’t expect students to agree, but to study to see a different way to think about the world in which they live.”

She made certain to say that while Americans might see mindfulness as a “tool for happiness,” that’s an oversimplification.

“On a certain level that’s fine,” Wesoky said. “But it’s not a substitute for reality. It’s not Pollyanna. It’s seeing reality as it is. It’s a way of being happier, but not an illusion. It’s seeing reality clearly, without judgment.”

Jennifer Hellwarth, 55, associate professor of English and Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies, worked with Wesoky on the Year of Mindfulness.

“We’re always worried about the past or the future,” Hellwarth said. “We spend a lot of time in those two places, but not a lot of time in the present.”

She thinks the message of mindfulness is writ large on Easter.

“Every inhale is an opportunity to be new again,” she said. “Approach life with the eyes of a child. With every exhale, a letting go.”

Before each of her classes, she asks her students to take three deep breaths.

“They initially think it’s strange,” Hellwarth said. “But a lot of them tell me they really appreciate the moments to get themselves centered.”

She said when you learn to be present, you suffer less because you let go of what you can’t control and you are not consumed with what is done or what you haven’t done.

“In that way, we’re a lot more available to the people around us,” Hellwarth said. “We find self-acceptance and compassion and nonjudgment. That benefits the world, and we learn to treat others with nonjudgment and with acceptance.”At its roots

Mindfulness, with all its newfound western facets, is also an outgrowth of Buddhism. A Buddhist study group meets every Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. at the Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Center. About 15 people, ranging in age from their 20s to 80s, remove their shoes and filter quietly into a sunlit room. Julia and Jim Hamilton run the group.

Jim Hamilton, 68, kneels on a cushion with an empty gold bowl next to him, which he will use to help practitioners keep their minds on meditation during the first 20 minutes. When the meeting begins, people find comfortable positions on chairs or cushions, bow their heads, close their eyes and some hum quietly. A scent of incense fills the small study.

Later, Amos Ong describes mindfulness, the meditation, as “being aware without a biasness, aware of situation without being affected by it.”

He said his study, which he began in Erie three years ago, has helped him learn to keep his emotions on an even keel: “I try not to get too angry or too happy,” he said. “In both situations, awareness without being sucked in.”

Ong, 52, originally of Singapore, teaches mathematics at Penn State Behrend. He is married (his wife is a Jehovah’s Witness) and they have a daughter.

He smiles when asked how his wife and he reconcile their different faiths. “It’s perfect harmony,” he said with a small laugh.

He said Buddhism has helped him change his life.

“Usually when people react with strong emotions, those are times when they wish they had not done,” Ong said. “With mindfulness, they have less trouble to deal with in their life.”

Kelly Risto, 42, attended the meeting. As a licensed social worker, she has seen mindfulness incorporated into education programs.

“I think mindfulness is not a new trend, but it’s nice to see it everywhere,” Risto said. “It’s nice to see folks are getting into it, especially with kids.”

Julia Hamilton, 64, said she wishes everyone would practice mindfulness. “It’s countercultural, I know,” she said. “We’re multitasking all the time. We have this endless need to be entertained. When are we truly present?”

But just like that first time seems so simple — mindfulness is never more than a deep breath away — it can actually be difficult to master.

“It takes a lot of practice,” Julia Hamilton said. “The mind is not naturally calm. There are layers and layers of distractions built up and you need to clean all that out.”

But Jim Hamilton urges patience with yourself, and finding beauty in the attempt.

That’s the whole point.

— Jennie Geisler can be reached at 870-1885 or by email. Follow her on Twitter attwitter.com/ETNgeisler.

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